To say Sirius was less than pleased to find out why Emma was staying in the dorms was an understatement. Emma had seen Sirius's fits of anger towards injustice before, but to see him so aggravated on her behalf made her feel good. Why did she ever worry that Sirius didn't love her like he said? A niggling voice in the back of her mind said it was only because she was a Black by blood, but that was her mind being irrational. Sirius was the one who went to her mother, Sirius was the one who was Dad first, Sirius was a big part of the reason she was alive. Sirius loved her even if he had left her; he had promised her that he would come back, and he did.
In true typical, Lupin fashion, Remus didn't want to believe Emma's claim that she was a Black. Neither Sirius nor Remus wanted to believe that Fenrir had a son. Remus was cautiously optimistic on Emma's newly changed lineage and skeptical that a child of Fenrir's would even live for very long. Sirius just didn't want to imagine Fenrir having a child at all. However, Emma's track record of being right on most things won them both over in the end.
"This would be so much easier if you didn't have to write everything," Sirius muttered as he read Remus's response in the notebook over her shoulder. They had moved along to Emma discussing what she'd heard about Peter and Voldemort, and Remus's response was hurried and nervous. He wasn't sure what to think at all, and Sirius didn't want to entertain the possibility. The only advice they both had was to go to Dumbledore and tell him what she had learned.
Emma and Sirius settled in together like they were at home, Sirius leaning against Emma's headboard and Emma sitting between his legs, leaning back against his chest. Emma wasn't too worried about someone coming into the dorm, knowing that a party was going on in the common room. She would take advantage of every moment she could get with Sirius as a human and not a dog. While she loved Padfoot and appreciated the comfort, she preferred her father to be very much human.
"It's the safest option we have, though," Emma said quietly, rubbing her tired eyes. It was well past midnight, and she had been up for almost a full day with Fenrir's obnoxiously early wakeup. "At least with the notebook, it just looks like I'm writing things down, and I'm thinking really hard about what to write next."
Sirius pulled Emma's head back to rest against his chest and kissed the spot near her temple. "You look absolutely exhausted," Sirius said softly as Emma closed her eyes. "How long have you been up for, baby?"
Emma cracked open her eyes to look over at her clock. "Another five hours and I will have been up for an entire day," she said, settling back against Sirius with a sleepy hum. Emma squinted back at the notebook in her hand, blinking hard to try and clear her vision.
"Bloody hell," Sirius muttered, pulling the notebook and quill out of Emma's hands. He scrawled a quick message to Remus, waited a few moments, and then closed the book with a resolute thud and set it to the side. He smoothed back Emma's hair, smiling at her noise of protest at the notebook being too far away. "You have been up for far too long, sweetheart. Daddy said that he loves you and to go to sleep."
"No, he didn't," Emma said grumpily, trying to reach for the notebook just as Sirius pushed it further.
"He did," Sirius said, grabbing onto one of the several blankets Emma had and pulling it over the both of them. "Sleep. You're going to be exhausted for your first day of classes."
"You and Daddy told me that you lot would stay up all night your first night back," Emma muttered, taking Patches and Bee into her arms as Sirius handed them to her.
"We did," Sirius admitted, wrapping his arms around Emma's shoulders. "But we also didn't have to deal with the summer you had."
Emma turned her head to meet Sirius's gaze. "You did," she whispered.
Sirius only shook his head, resting his cheek against the top of Emma's head. "It was different," he said sadly. "Yours was far worse than I ever experienced at your age. But rest, sweetheart, you have such sleepy eyes."
"Aren't you going to turn into Padfoot?" Emma questioned.
"No, love, not right now," Sirius said, chuckling softly as Emma leaned back further to look at him with concern. "I'm a Marauder – we'll be all right. I'd just like to hold you for a bit if you don't mind."
"All right," Emma said quietly, closing her eyes once more as she got comfortable. "'Night, Papa."
"Good night, sweetheart," Sirius said, kissing the top of Emma's head. "I love you – always remember that."
"I know," Emma smiled. "I love you, too."
Emma was sure that both Remus and Sirius possessed an entirely different form of magic. She still hadn't figured out how they managed to get her settled into bed without waking her. When her alarm went off, Emma let out an aggravated groan, slapping the clock to turn it off. She turned her head to look at the black dog lying next to her. Padfoot lifted his head to look at Emma and yawned before pressing his nose to her cheek in greeting.
"Morning, Papa," Emma said, running a hand through his fur. "It's far too early."
Padfoot lifted himself up onto his four paws and stretched, shaking out his fur. In one fluid movement, he leaped over Emma and landed on two feet, turning to look at Emma, a man once more. It always fascinated Emma that Sirius could manage to shift back so flawlessly.
"It's your first full day of school," Sirius said with a grin. He reached out for Emma's hands and pulled her into a sitting position. "Come on, get up."
"It's too early," Emma yawned.
Sirius chuckled, sitting down next to Emma and letting her lean against him. "With a bit of coffee and some food, you'll perk right up," Sirius said, stroking Emma's hair. "You'll have all weekend to catch up on your sleep if you'd like."
"Hmm, maybe," Emma said. "Probably. No one likes me anymore, anyway."
"Hush," Sirius said softly. "Merlin, you are so like Daddy sometimes."
"Suppose that was bound to happen at some point spending an entire year with him."
"And it makes me love you just that much more," Sirius said, giving Emma a gentle shake to get her up. "Come on, love, time to get up."
Emma woke up slowly, trying to figure out just how her routine at Hogwarts would need to go. She stretched as she walked, pulling out everything she would need and frowning slightly as she tried to figure out the logistics of having Sirius present. He was only staying for a few days, but she worried it would be difficult to manage.
"Papa, are you hungry?" Emma suddenly asked, looking up from her half-packed bag.
"A bit, but I can wait until you come back for lunch," Sirius said, looking up from Emma's notebook.
"No, I'll get you something from the common room. I'm sure they've got plenty to eat from the kitchens – we've always had food here the first week or so. Anything in particular you'd want?"
There was a hint of uneasiness in Sirius's expression as if he wasn't quite ready to let Emma leave. When Emma's expression became mildly pointed, he gave her a soft smile in response.
"Anything you think I'd like," Sirius said.
And so off Emma went, traipsing into the still-waking common room as if she had been present the entire time. Wary and curious eyes followed her as she found the tables full of food, but luckily no one said a word. Emma had a sneaking suspicion she had been a topic of discussion and didn't entirely miss the way the fourth year girls followed her every movement.
It seemed ridiculous that even after the feast, they were still looking at her like that, like she was an animal in a zoo. It was clear that they didn't entirely appreciate her presence, the curl of a lip here, the narrowing of eyes there. She didn't understand how after her very heated and vehement declarations, she was still considered just a creature. Emma had been nothing but honest, not caring to keep the information hidden any longer, hoping it meant things would change, but it didn't matter. As long as she was at Hogwarts, she was considered a threat. It was a bitter pill to swallow.
She practically rushed back into the dorm with an armful of food. It would look absolutely mental for her to be bringing so much food into the dorm and then eating at breakfast, but she would stash some in her bag. The moment Emma stepped back around the curtain to her pseudo-room, Sirius's forehead wrinkled with his concern.
"What?" Emma asked, frowning at Sirius's expression. She dropped all of the food she had in her hands on her bed and grabbed a breakfast pasty from the pile. With a sigh, she set down an overfilled goblet of pumpkin juice on her nightstand.
"Did someone say something to you?" he asked. He looked through the pile of food that was dropped on the bed and decided on a pasty as well.
"No," Emma said grumpily, sitting down on her bed. "Just stared. They look at me like I'm about to attack them."
"I think, with time, people will start to come around," Sirius said earnestly.
"And if they don't? Then what? I've got this entire year, and then I have to at least get through next year before I can even drop out."
"You are not dropping out," Sirius said lightly.
"And if Voldemort comes back –"
"He's not going to come back. You're going to tell Dumbledore what you heard, yes?"
"Yes, but when you say that, it makes it sound as though you believe there's a possibility he could come back."
Sirius's lips pressed into a thin line, and he gently lifted Figaro away from the pile of food on Emma's bed. "Go get yourself ready," Sirius said. "You need to eat more than just this."
"You're too much like Daddy sometimes," Emma huffed out, shoving the rest of the pasty in her mouth. "It's like he's here all over again," she said between her chewing.
"Good, that's what I was hoping for. Now go – you've got a long day to get through, and I don't think Daddy would be too happy if I didn't make sure you ate."
Putting on her uniform was somehow much more difficult the second time. She was happy to have a uniform that fit her correctly, but it brought her thoughts back to being in Diagon Alley and meeting Greyson. How did no one know that he existed and how had he kept himself a secret for so long? Even if he was shorter than Fenrir, Greyson still looked like his father, and his eyes were burned into her mind. She shook her head, wanting to clear her head from thoughts of Greyson. Emma let out a long breath that she felt she had been holding in all summer – she could finally breathe.
Emma stared at herself in the mirror to check her makeup for a long moment and ran her fingers over the scars on her face. They had faded considerably over the past month, but they were still pink and held a sharp contrast against her skin. She knew they would eventually fade further like the one Fenrir inflicted on her wrist, but she was impatient. Emma always wanted to cover the scars up, but any sort of cover-up made them look worse. At least the balm Elara gave her diminished their appearance much quicker. It seemed cruel that any other cut she had could heal within days, but werewolf inflicted wounds never went away.
"Well, how do I look?" Emma asked when she returned back to her bed. She looked down at herself, taking in her rolled-up sleeves. It was a bold move and showed the bite on her arm, but it wasn't like it mattered if she hid it or not.
"Beautiful as always," Sirius smiled. "Perhaps more radiant than when I saw you last."
"I certainly don't feel like it," Emma said, unable to stop the small smile that crossed her face. "And you don't have to tell me I'm beautiful. I know I'm really not if I had to hear Fenrir call me that at least once a day."
"Hmm, well, he's not the one who matters, is he?" Sirius said pointedly. "The only men who matter in your life are Daddy and me. Therefore, only our opinions matter – and you are absolutely beautiful, Pumpkin."
Emma snorted, picking up her bag. "Not even my future husband will matter?"
"You're not getting married until you're seventy," Sirius said, waving Emma off. "Although, I suppose he'll have to matter, too. But only if he's actually worth it."
"No one would want to marry me anyway, so it doesn't matter," Emma said, ignoring the look on Sirius's face. "You promise that you're going to stay here? You're not going to try running through the castle?"
"I solemnly swear that I will not move from this curtained room," Sirius said as seriously as he possibly could. "You know, I'm a bit jealous that you Hufflepuffs get all of this space. It's nice. I probably would have figured out how to just live here."
"Just one perk of living in the badger's sett," Emma said, taking a look around. She gave Sirius another look, one that was far more serious. "And you swear that if you hear anyone, you'll immediately turn into Padfoot and hide?"
"Sweetheart, I am a Marauder, and I have been on the run for over a year now," Sirius said gently. He tugged Emma into his arms and held her close. "You don't need to worry about me, I promise."
"And you promise you won't leave without telling me goodbye?" Emma asked, poking Sirius's sides playfully so he let her go. "You'll still be here when I come back?"
"Oh, I'm sure I can find ways to entertain myself for a while," Sirius said, lifting Emma's notebook.
"If I come back and you've written weird things to Daddy, we are going to have a very long conversation, Papa," Emma said, narrowing her eyes.
"Where's the fun in being a father if I can't scar my daughter for life by informing my future husband of all the naughty things I want to do to him?"
"Papa, please do not," Emma groaned, kissing Sirius's cheek. "I expect that notebook to still be filled with innocent, child-friendly things, thank you."
"I'll make sure I write about how excited I am to snog him when I get home, then."
"Ew," Emma laughed. "I'll be back around lunch, and we can eat together. I'll grab something from the kitchen again."
"You don't have to eat with me," Sirius said. "I have plenty here to last until dinner. It's the first day, eat with your friends."
"I'm not too sure I have too many of those…"
"Emma Hope –"
"I will find someone to talk to," Emma said in exasperation. "Don't you dare tell Daddy how I'm being."
"Too late," Sirius said. "I love you, sweetheart. Have a good first day."
"Love you, too," Emma said quietly, hauling her bag over her shoulder. "Don't let Fig get into any trouble."
Emma could thank Merlin for small miracles as she found Justin waiting for her just outside the girl's dorm. She cast him a grateful look and shook her head. "You could have gone up," Emma said as Justin pulled her into a hug.
"Everyone's moving slow this morning," Justin said. "Besides, I'm not leaving you alone this year."
Emma had no reason not to doubt Justin's claim.
Justin Finch-Fletchley had somehow become Emma's first friend in Hufflepuff back in their first year. Their friendship started out slowly, unsure of just how similar they were, but the more they talked, the more they had in common. Justin being Muggle-born gave Emma a near-instant connection with him. She had practically grown up as a Muggle-born child, and magic was just as new to her as it was to him. Remus used magic infrequently at home except when necessary, or at least Emma had thought so. It wasn't until Emma's short time at home that she realized that most magic Remus used was wandless or non-verbal. Regardless, everything felt new and exciting at the time, whereas their classmates were surrounded by magic growing up.
While the half-bloods and pure-bloods balked at Emma being "adopted," Justin never seemed to care about that fact about her. Even better, they were both only children and had that to relate to. They often reflected on how much better it was to have their parents' attention to themselves and not have to share.
Even though Justin came from a more affluent family, he didn't flaunt what he owned. He never made Emma feel bad when some of her books were second-hand or when something didn't seem entirely new. Justin was never anything less than kind and intelligent, even if he could sometimes be easily impressed and gullible.
They spoke at length over all things Muggle culture – the newest celebrity gossip, new music that they heard on the wireless, and movies they wanted to watch. They often traded recommendations for books to read and giggled over the strange things in wizarding written books. They would walk the halls and talk to the portraits together sometimes, marveling at the magic behind how they worked. Even though they didn't entirely understand the process, they appreciated how different the magical world could be.
The true test of their relationship was during the bad moments Emma had in their first year. It was no secret that Emma frequently had terrible nightmares, and on her worst nights, she could creep into the boy's dorm. She would creep over to Justin's bed to wake him up, and he would spend the night with her in the common room. He would listen to whatever was on her mind, and they would attempt to play chess for a while. Often times they would wake up snuggled against each other with a blanket over the top of them. They still weren't sure who would cover them up and why they didn't make them get up and return to their rooms.
Justin had apparently let loose on the other Hufflepuffs after discovering everything that had happened while he was petrified their second year. He was disgusted by everyone's behavior, and he felt terrible that he had contributed in any way and had apologized for it profusely. Justin never claimed to be brave and had been terrified when the message on the wall appeared regarding the Chamber of Secrets.
All through their third year, Justin was the first one willing to join Emma on her stupid ideas. He was the one who worried just as much as Cedric when her emotions completely spiraled out. While Justin spent plenty of time with Ernie and Hannah, he spent just as much time with Emma. When she wasn't talking to Remus throughout almost the entirety of October, he was there for her the most next to Persephone. Even though Emma never said a word about what had happened that Halloween, Justin seemed to know right away. He never questioned it, never brought it up, but it seemed convenient that he suddenly teamed up with Cedric. Neither of them had left her alone since.
"Okay, Mum," Emma teased. "Shall we head up?"
"Ah, I missed your sarcastic little comments," Justin said wistfully. "Let's head up."
The other thing that Emma adored about Justin was his ability to know when Emma didn't want to talk about things. He immediately launched into a conversation about the last movie he saw before the summer ended. Emma was eternally grateful that Justin could have conversations with her where she didn't have to think too hard.
By the time they made it to the Great Hall and sat down, Emma was in much better spirits. Only a quarter of the Hufflepuffs had made it up from the common room, and the table was still mostly empty. The moment Emma sat down, Finley's bright eyes found her, and she ran over to her, leaping onto the bench next to Emma and nearly knocking her into Justin.
"Good morning, Emma!" Finley shouted, throwing her arms around Emma in pure delight. "I can't believe it's my first day!"
Emma was in much better spirits when she sat down for breakfast. Finley practically ran over to her and sat down excitedly.
"I know," Emma responded with a grin. "Are you excited?"
"Very!"
"Morning, Em," Cedric said from across the table.
"Careful there, Ced. You're talking to my favorite girl," Justin said, propping his head on his hand and batting his eyelashes at Emma. He gave Cedric a mischievous smile. "I will fight you for her."
"Oh, shut it, Finch-Fletchley," Emma said, grabbing a spoonful of egg and flicking its contents at Justin. "Don't be stupid when I've already had a bit of a morning."
"It's the first full day of term. How are you having 'a bit of a morning,' Lupin?"
"I'll tell you sometime this weekend," Emma said gravely. "Bit complicated to try and wade through right now."
"Ah, Miss Lupin, good morning," Professor Sprout said, flipping through the papers held in her hand to find Emma's schedule. "How are you this morning?"
"I'm as well as I'm going to get," Emma said quietly, looking through her schedule when she had it in her hand. She frowned slightly when she noticed the two-hour block of empty space where Divination would probably go. Caspian, who just sat down, was staring at her intently, wondering what she was about to do. Emma let out a breath, shooting him a look before plastering on a smile as she turned to Sprout as she searched for Justin's schedule. "Professor Sprout, if it's not too much, would it be possible to add Divination back into my schedule?"
"Really?" Professor Sprout asked in surprise. "Remus was quite adamant about having you removed from the class. Are you sure that you want to continue with Divination?"
Emma glanced up at Caspian, whose eyes grew comically wide in surprise that Emma had actually asked to continue the class, and she nodded.
"Er, yes," she said. "Thought it might be worth keeping a full schedule."
"Well…well, all right, dear. If you're sure," Professor Sprout said slowly, pulling out her wand to tap it to Emma's schedule. "Come see me at lunch so that we can discuss your arrangements for your time with Dr. Wheeler."
"Of course," Emma said, looking down at her schedule. At least Divination would only be once a week. "Thank you, Professor Sprout."
"Wow," Caspian said slowly when Professor Sprout was far enough away. "I didn't think you were actually going to add Divination back just because Fenrir said to."
"Caspian, shut up," Emma said sharply.
"Should bloody write to him and tell him that he managed to actually convince you to add the class back. I'm sure he'll be absolutely delighted."
"Cas, shut up," Emma hissed. "It's not like it's a big deal for me to just take it."
"I'm just saying," Caspian said through a mouthful of his cereal. "Persephone said you were complaining about the class all last year. The fact that you actually added it back to your schedule is bizarre."
"If I want to stop taking it again, I can," Emma said heatedly.
"Why do we have to History of Magic first?" Justin asked with a groan. "At least it's not with the Ravenclaws this year."
"The Gryffindors can have a right good time in History, then," Emma muttered. She wasn't at all looking forward to her first day would go. History of Magic first, followed by Potions, and then Defense Against the Dark Arts. She wasn't looking forward to Defense at all, but at least it was just before lunch. Double Charms and Transfiguration didn't seem like a terrible way to end her day. Still, it meant her most challenging homework would be delegated to the weekend, and she wasn't thrilled about that.
"Did you see? We've got Moody today," Hannah said, sitting down with Susan on the other side of the table.
"Curious to see what he's going to be like," Ernie said, his tone mildly clipped when he noticed Emma. He gave her an annoyed once-over before deciding he would just ignore her. "He was an Auror, you know."
Emma did, in fact, know that Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody was a retired Auror and possibly one of the most famous Aurors of all time. Sirius spoke in short, almost nervous sentences about Moody as he was part of the Aurors present at his arrest. However, there was an incredible amount of respect in his words. Sirius's worry over Moody being in the castle was the only reason why Emma didn't fear him leaving the dorm. Remus was amazed that Dumbledore had managed to get Moody out of retirement but had only good things to say. He tried to assure Emma that she would have a good professor, but she wasn't entirely convinced.
A sudden, errant hoot soared over the Great Hall, and Cedric looked up as a lone owl flew in and dropped something at the Gryffindor table.
"Morning mail's here," he said just as a swarm of owls flew into the Great Hall.
The first full day of term always seemed to be the busiest day for mail. Excited children wrote to their parents the night before and would receive their responses the next morning. The ceiling was a flurry of feathers of all different colors, squawks and shrill hoots, and excited talking. Emma wasn't expecting to receive a letter at all when she could talk to Remus in her notebook. However, Aurora flew in and dropped a letter in front of Emma, not bothering to say hello. Emma wanted to be annoyed that her owl didn't stop for a moment to be greeted, but her annoyance was overshadowed by Remus's familiar writing on the front of the envelope. She felt her father was ridiculous sometimes, but she more than appreciated the gesture.
However, that wasn't the only letter Emma received. She let out an exasperated sigh when she noticed Fenrir's now equally familiar writing on another envelope, but more and more kept coming.
Owl after owl started to land in front of Emma, and she paled considerably at the number of owls beginning to line the table. Most dropped envelopes in front of her, but a few stayed, pushing themselves in front of another owl, nipping at wings and beaks. Pitchers of pumpkin juice were knocked over, and plates of food tipped over and upended. Emma was almost frantic with how quickly she tried to grab the envelopes, not wanting to have the owls make an even bigger mess.
"Em, what are all of those?" Caspian asked, his brow furrowed. He stared at the owls for a long moment before deciding to help take letters as more owls landed. Justin, Cedric, and Finley quickly joined in to help take the letters.
"I dunno," Emma said, her stomach sinking. "I wasn't even expecting to get a letter from Dad. I don't know what these are."
"This is mental," Cedric said.
Justin moved over to allow someone to sit in between him and Emma. George plunked down next to Emma to join in the gathering of letters. "Why do you have so many bloody letters?" George asked, looking at Emma curiously.
"She doesn't know," Cedric said in explanation, waving off an owl that was trying to get at the toast.
"I really don't know at all," Emma said with a frown. She tucked her letters from Remus and Fenrir into her bag – she could read those later. Swallowing hard, Emma grabbed the first letter in front of her, unsure of what its contents would hold. She let out a sharp gasp when she pulled out the parchment.
The letters on the page weren't handwritten but cut letters from a magazine or the Daily Prophet and pasted down. Emma's throat constricted almost painfully as she looked over the pile of letters. She knew they were all going to be the same.
HOGWARTS ISN'T A PLACE FOR FILTHY HALFBREEDS LIKE YOU. GO BACK TO YOUR OWN KIND.
"Whoa," George breathed out, reading over Emma's shoulder. He paused for a moment and grabbed another letter from the pile, frowning at its contents. Emma reached out to take it, but George pulled it back. "You don't want to read this one."
"Why?" Emma asked. She watched as Caspian reached over from the other side, opening it and turning white. He passed the letter to Cedric and opened another letter, his reaction no better than the first. "What is it?"
"Em, you have to tell someone about these," Justin said as he opened another letter. "Er, they're…gruesome."
"What?" Emma asked anxiously, reaching over and ripping the letter out of Justin's hands. She gasped when she was met with a picture cut out from the Daily Prophet of a photo of her and Remus, but their heads were cut off with red X's scratched in their eyes.
Remus had told her that this had happened to him shortly after the first Daily Prophet articles had come out. She had thought people had forgotten about her as she hadn't received any letters, but Remus said he had a redirect set up. Apparently, Lyall had done the same thing, and Emma didn't receive any owls while at Saint Nicholas's. This was the part of Remus's outing as a werewolf that she hadn't witnessed. Emma thought that even if someone remembered her, she would have relative anonymity at the school. She was sorely mistaken.
Emma shoved the letter in her hands back at Justin and opened another. Her shock gave way to mild amusement as what looked to be powdered silver fell out of the envelope. She forced herself to huff out a laugh as she would cry otherwise if she didn't.
"Do people really think silver hurts werewolves?" Emma asked the others, her eyes darting over to the other fourth year Hufflepuffs who wore mixed reactions. Justin had shown Ernie the one letter and at least looked as though he might feel bad. The girls hadn't seen the contents of the letters, but everyone except for Hannah, who had close ties with Ernie, looked worried.
I HOPE THAT THIS SILVER KILLS YOU. HOW DARE YOU STEAL YOUR MAGIC.
"Oh, look. I must have found Jocelyn's parents," Emma said, turning the letter out to show Caspian. "How sweet. Too bad silver doesn't hurt a werewolf, and too bad I'm not actually a werewolf at all. Idiots."
"Emma," Justin said softly, his eyes full of concern. He had noticed the way Emma's breath had caught when she opened another letter.
"This is what happened to Dad," Emma said quietly, blinking back her tears. She leaned into George as he put his arm around her. "I just…I didn't think it would happen to me, too."
She couldn't cry. She had done too much of it already, and she needed to be strong. This was her reality now, and she had to accept it. The wizarding community had painted her as someone she wasn't, and she had to be strong. No wonder Fenrir told her to stop caring what people thought about her. These weren't going to be the only letters she received.
"You've never received letters like this before?" Cedric asked.
"No," Emma said, pushing the letters aside. "Never."
"I'm going to go tell Professor Sprout," Cedric said, gathering the already opened letters and standing up. He pointed at the pile of unopened letters. "Don't you dare open any more of those. We don't know what's in them. What if that letter had something more dangerous than silver?"
The morning didn't get any better. Emma was left incredibly embarrassed when Professor Sprout was joined with Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick hurried over with Cedric. McGonagall apologized for the terrible oversight on her part and said that she would be sure to set up a redirect for Emma's mail. If she received any more letters from people she didn't know, she was to give it to a professor immediately, and Emma was to write out a list of approved correspondences. It was something else for Emma to add to her list of things for the day, and she was already ready for the day to be over.
History of Magic wasn't terrible as she thought it would be. However, there was a moment that left Emma concerned – her school record hadn't entirely been updated.
As Professor Binns went through the class register, Emma felt herself grow sick at the mention of a "Black, Emma" immediately after, "Abbott, Hannah."
The Hufflepuffs had laughed it off easy, believing it to be Binns' lack of awareness, but the Slytherins all looked at Emma. Persephone, who had decided to sit with Daphne, turned around to look at Emma with a horrified expression. Draco's eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion as he turned to look at her. Emma desperately hoped that her horror wasn't worn on her face, though she felt her entire body grow hot and cold at the same time. Draco wasn't the only one who gave her that look.
Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, Samantha Runcorn, Mauricius Webb, and Blaise Zabini, the pure-bloods of Slytherin were now very curious. Black was an oddly specific surname for Emma to suddenly be given by Binns, and they all knew it. Ernie, Sally, and Leanne, who had initially laughed with the rest of the Hufflepuffs, noticed how the Slytherins looked at Emma. Their gazes were now just as suspicious. Emma was in trouble.
Potions wasn't any better. Emma had already been aggravated to have to go to Potions in the first place and was in a very sour mood. The very moment Snape started to take attendance, he stopped, his dark eyes shooting up to meet Emma's. His expression was blank for one long moment, and then his lip started to curl, and Emma just raised her eyebrows in a silent challenge. She had no issue in calling Snape out again, and he knew it. Snape's expression shifted to one of disgust, and he scanned the rest of the room to see who was present. He picked up a quill and immediately began to scratch something out on his registry and write something new in. Emma could feel Ernie's gaze on her the entire time.
If Emma thought Snape was vindictive before, he had somehow grown much worse since the previous year. Each time he passed by her, he had a new snide comment about her fathers, both subtle and not-so-subtle. Each little comment about Remus and Sirius bothered her, but she expected it and ignored them. However, she didn't realize just how low Snape would go – she should have known better.
She nearly upended her cauldron in anger when Snape dared to mention Fenrir, drawing the attention of even the Ravenclaws. Emma was already a tightly wound-up ball of sheer frustration at having to deal with Snape after what he'd done, but his mention of Fenrir annoyed her. Apparently, Fenrir's comments had been very choice when Snape came to drop the Wolfsbane Potion off for her.
"I wasn't the one who asked him to say whatever he did," Emma snarled at Snape. "I didn't ask for my summer to go the way it did. Need I remind you that you're the reason that I look how I do? Need I remind you that you're the reason my father was almost killed? All of this could have been avoided if it weren't for you." Emma didn't have to explain to Snape that she was referring to both of them. If Remus didn't have such a clean record, he would have been executed, and Sirius nearly received the Dementor's Kiss. As long as Emma lived, Snape would never have her respect again.
Snape and Emma glared at each other, Emma silently challenging Snape to try and deny his involvement in how her summer was. He looked as though he was about to say something, but Emma wasn't about to give him the opportunity.
"You know very well who I have on my side now," Emma growled out. She wasn't expecting to use Fenrir as a weapon of sorts, but he was the best she had. "I think you should think carefully about what you say next."
"And he deserves to be put down like the rest of them," Snape sneered. "15 points from Hufflepuff. If you dare speak out of turn again, expect detention for the rest of the month."
"Shit, Emma," Mandy Brocklehurst said quietly when Snape was far enough away. "Do I even want to know what that was about?"
"No," Emma said roughly. "You don't."
Emma's head was pounding with a massive headache by the time Potions was over, and she still had Defense to get through. Justin wanted to walk with her, worried about how she was, but she sent him off on his way. She was ready to climb back into bed and stay there and wished that she didn't leave her notebook with Sirius. Emma wanted nothing more than to talk to Remus just to have him soothe her nerves. She suddenly remembered her letter from Remus that she still hadn't read and dug into her bag to find it. Perhaps that would help.
Remus had such a way with words that Emma nearly broke down into tears by the time she made it to the Defense classroom. It was a very poor choice to read Remus's letter before heading into a room she had called home. His letter held such fond words of their time together, his hopes for the next year for her, and his plentiful reminders that he loved her. While she kept every letter that Remus ever wrote her, this particular letter would be joining the pile that she carried with her everywhere. She was still frustrated from Potions, but she could get through this class, and then she could sit with Sirius for lunch. It would be fine.
Around half the class had made it to Defense already, and Emma inwardly cringed as the Slytherins looked up at her. To Emma's surprise, Persephone skipped up to her, her hair bouncing with every step. An almost sad smile crossed Persephone's face as she looked at Emma and her hands came up to wipe away the stray tears that had fallen from Emma's eyes.
"Sit together?" Persephone asked. "For old time's sake?"
"Really?" Emma huffed out with a laugh. "After telling me to stay away from you?"
"Well, it's tradition, no?" Persephone said pointedly. "We have to have at least one class where we sit together. Why not this one?"
Emma looked over at Justin, who was in a spirited discussion with Ernie, who looked up at her with a scathing look. "Yeah, might as well," Emma agreed. "Where do we sit?"
"Somewhere in the middle. Not like last year," Persephone said, pulling Emma to the far-left side of the room so they could be near the windows. "I think right here should be fine."
The Defense classroom was transformed once more, and Emma took a curious look around. Gone were the multiple skeletons and strange objects Remus had collected, but in their place were other items Emma had never seen. It seemed like an entirely different room, less airy and bright as Remus kept it, but dark and almost brooding. The room felt oddly dangerous and less welcoming, and it left Emma feeling uneasy. She hoped that Remus and Sirius had been honest in their words of praise of Moody. All Emma knew was it was not going to be a typical year.
The class grew quiet as they heard the thunking noises of Moody walking down the hallway, and they quickly settled. Emma, who had taken an aisle seat, was grateful that Justin sat to her right. He reached across the aisle to take Emma's hand in a reassuring gesture. This class, in particular, would possibly be more difficult than Potions for her to get through.
"Put your books away," Moody said roughly as he made his way to his desk and sat down heavily. "You're not going to need them."
Moody pulled out his register and began to call out names. Emma nearly let out an audible sigh of relief when her name was right between Megan Jones and Draco Malfoy where she belonged. However, Emma didn't miss the way Moody's magical eye seemed to linger on her just a moment longer than the others.
"Perfect," he said after he marked down Blaise as present. "Now, I received a letter from Professor Lupin this morning –" Emma had to ignore the sharp ache she felt at the mention of her father "– and he gave me a rundown of everything you learned. He's made sure that you've been put through the paces with all sorts of dark creatures – boggarts, Red Caps, hinkypunks, Kappas, and werewolves, yes?"
The very moment Moody mentioned werewolves, everyone turned to look at Emma. She sunk down in her chair, her face heating up in embarrassment. This wasn't going off to a good start at all.
"Yes?" Moody prompted, causing only half the class to turn back and pay attention. He let out an aggravated noise, his attention turning back to Emma. "Lupin!" he said sharply.
"Y-yes, Professor?" Emma stammered out, her eyes wide.
"You a werewolf?"
"Er, no sir," Emma said, squirming in her seat. She began to run through every possible spell she could think of to have the floor split open.
"Ever turn into a wolf? Have moments where you forget what happened during the full moon?"
"Uhm…no, sir. Never."
"Good. Case closed. In case you're all wondering, she was attacked by a werewolf, but that doesn't make her one. Lupin's not a werewolf – moving on," Moody said with a tone that suggested he wouldn't revisit the topic. "Now, Professor Lupin covered dark creatures, yes?"
This time the class's response was more absolute as they slowly looked away from Emma and paid attention to Moody. Emma looked over at Persephone in confusion. What had just happened?
"Right then. He did an excellent job preparing you for dark creatures; suppose he was the best man for the job after all. But you're behind – very behind – on dealing with curses," Moody said gruffly. "I've got one year to get you up to scratch on where you need to be. You need to be prepared for what other wizards can do to each other." Moody seemed oddly excited by the idea, clapping his hands as he stood heavily back on his feet. "Now, according to the Ministry, I'm supposed to teach you counter curses and leave it at that. I'm not meant to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in sixth year…"
Emma practically tuned Moody out at the mention of showing what Dark curses looked like. She remembered the weeks Remus spent teaching about the unforgivable curses and his gentle warnings to avoid the classroom during those times. It wasn't often that she needed to leave class to go be with him, but he took care to make sure she knew what he was doing. Remus knew just how uncomfortable the topic was for her but was gentle in his approach with teaching her of the other spells. Moody appeared to be taking a much different approach.
"Lupin," Moody said sharply.
Emma's eyes snapped up to Moody. Once again, everyone was looking at her.
"Yes, sir?" she asked, brow furrowing.
"What's one of the curses that are heavily punished by wizarding law? I know that you're very familiar with one of them from your files."
Emma's stomach sank, and she looked away from Moody. The eyes of her classmates were practically burning holes into her skull. Looked like a lot of her secrets were going to be put out into the world, and Persephone's gaze shifted between Moody and Emma almost frantically.
"The…erm…the Cruciatus," Emma said quietly. "The torture curse."
"And you've had the curse used on you before?"
The entire classroom seemed to grow impossibly quieter. Even Justin didn't know that part of her life, and he looked almost pained as he looked at her.
Emma swallowed hard around the lump in her throat and took a steadying breath. "Yes, sir," Emma said quietly.
There were sharp gasps and sudden murmurings at Emma's declaration.
"Up," Moody said. "Get up, Lupin. Come here."
Reluctantly Emma stood up from her seat and joined Moody at the front of the room. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a glass jar with three large spiders. He reached into the jar and pulled the spider out, dropping it on his desk.
"Engorgio," Moody muttered, pointing his wand at the spider. It scuttled across the desk, swelling up to the size of a large tarantula. His normal eye and his magic eye studied her closely before he motioned to the spider.
"Take your wand out," Moody said, his magic eye swiveling to watch Emma as his regular eye remained focused on the spider. Emma slowly took out her wand, unsure of why Moody wanted her to take her wand out. "You know the spell?" Emma gave a slight nod, and Moody suddenly motioned towards the spider. "Go on, cast it, then."
"What?" Emma asked. Her heart was hammering hard in her chest with disbelief
"Cast the Cruciatus on her."
"No," Emma said sharply, putting her wand away and looking at the spider in alarm. It was only a spider, but that didn't matter. It felt like when Fenrir tried to goad her into casting the spell on him, and Emma wasn't sure she liked Moody at all. "Absolutely not."
Moody reached out and seized her wrist and pulled it up to shoulder height. Emma worried that he would put his wand in her hand instead, but he took things in a different direction.
"I want you all to see the lasting damage of the Cruciatus," Moody said, releasing his hold on Emma's wrist once he pulled her hand forward. Emma went to lower her hand, but Moody shot her a look, and she kept it where it was.
Emma felt too on display and too exposed; for the longest time, the spell damage from the Cruciatus was her well-guarded secret. While she understood that Moody wanted the others to understand the damage caused, she was embarrassed. Her classmates' eyes watched as her mildly steady hand began to shake, the motion exacerbated by her nerves. She already had enough wrong with her for people to point out; this would just be something else.
Without the opportunity to brace herself, Moody let go of her wrist and turned his wand onto the spider. "Crucio," he muttered.
Emma's breath caught in her throat, and she flinched instinctively at the incantation. Still, her fear didn't diminish even when she realized the spell wasn't cast on her. Hot tears filled her eyes as she watched in horror as the spider curled in on itself, legs folding in tightly. If the spider could make any noise, she knew the sound it would make; it was the sharp, shrill sound she had made.
"Professor," Persephone shouted, her tone frantic when Moody didn't release the curse on the spider.
Moody looked up at Persephone with his magical eye and finally lifted his wand, releasing the curse. He looked over at Emma with a gruff hum. "Reducio," Moody said, shrinking the spider to her proper size. He scooped the spider up and placed her back in the jar, placing a hand on Emma's arm to send her back to her desk. His magical eye searched Emma's face as she sat back down, wiping off her face from the tears that had fallen.
"The Cruciatus curse was a popular once," Moody said. "There's no need for physical means of torturing someone when you can perform the Cruciatus Curse."
Emma could barely pay attention to the rest of the class. When the class jumped at Moody's outbursts of "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" she could scarcely find it in herself to react. All she could do was think about the tortured spider, the one that had been put through the Imperius curse, and the one that suffered its quick death. She sighed heavily when the class finally ended and looked at her notes. Her writing was so shaky that she was going to have to rewrite her notes at some point that weekend. Perhaps Remus would be willing to walk her back through the lesson since she barely paid attention.
"Lupin!" Moody called as the class packed up. "A word before you leave."
The last thing Emma wanted to do was stay in the room any longer with Moody. She still had to see Sprout, and she desperately wanted to be with Sirius.
"Hey," Persephone said softly, glancing over at Justin, who looked concerned. "Do you want us to wait for you?"
"No," Emma said shakily. "I, uhm…I planned to just grab something from the kitchens anyway. I have to see Sprout – therapy tonight, you know."
"You sure?" Justin asked.
"Yeah, it's all right. You both go eat," Emma said, smoothing out her robes and lifting the strap of her bag over her shoulder. "I'll see you both later."
Emma slowly made her way to the front of the room and stood in front of Moody's desk, trying to ignore the way her body still shook. She felt cold, numb even, from Moody's lesson. How was she meant to get through the rest of the year?
"Lupin," Moody said gruffly when the rest of the class left. "Though suppose it's Black according to your records, eh?"
Emma huffed out a laugh, the sound slightly bitter. "Depends on who you talk to," Emma said quietly. "Ministry says Nickels, here says Black, apparently. I just say Lupin."
"You don't want to be a Black?"
"Only in blood, sir," Emma said quietly. "I want to be a Lupin by name. That's who I've always been, after all."
Moody nodded. "Respectable choice," he said. "Lupin's a good man. Intelligent, clever – both your father and grandfather, I mean. I wanted to apologize for using you as an example today. Some of your classmates won't come face to face with the Cruciatus Curse, but most of them will, and it'll sink in more to see the lasting effects."
"It's all right," Emma said with a half-hearted shrug. "I understand."
"There was recent spell damage, though, wasn't there?"
"Sir?"
"I know what it looks like when the curse has settled down in a person's nerves. Your tremors indicate that there was recent trauma."
"I don't –"
"There's no point in lying to me, Lupin. Who was it?"
Both of Moody's eyes met Emma's inquisitive gaze. He gave Emma a smile, and while it was probably meant to be encouraging, it seemed anything but.
"Guess that answer also depends on who you talk to," Emma said bitterly. "But it's not like it matters. Nothing will be done about it."
"How do you know?"
"Nothing was ever done the first time," Emma shrugged. She hesitated for a moment, worrying her lip between her teeth before finally saying quietly, "Jude's untouchable."
"Is he?" Moody asked. "I'm not too sure about that."
"Sir?"
"Was it ever reported?"
"Er, no," Emma said quietly. "I didn't…he's already done enough to me this summer. All I care about is being able to go back home where I belong. The Ministry already isn't too thrilled with my entire existence as it is."
"But you're not a werewolf."
"No, sir."
"Well, if you were to have an…unexpected illness or injury and had to visit the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey would be obligated to report the spell damage. She would be able to pinpoint around the general time it appeared. If you just so happened to be nowhere near home, then it would be easy to narrow down the offender."
"Are you…are you telling me that I should be, er…going to Madam Pomfrey, sir?" Emma questioned, not sure if she heard Moody correctly. He only gave a slight shrug, clunking heavily around the desk. "Will it – will it work?" Emma added slowly.
"It'll create a paper trail. An older report already exists, and as it's now illegal…"
"But will he go to Azkaban?"
"Anything is possible. At the very least, it'll force an investigation," Moody said. "It'll make it impossible for him to find work. No one will want to hire someone who can cast the Cruciatus on children. And perhaps, with Lupin's clean record, there's a chance the right people would see the truth."
Emma nearly shivered in delight at the idea of Jude actually getting in trouble. Could that at all be possible? With Ellis in the Ministry, Emma always wondered just how many connections Jude had. Was he as untouchable as she thought? Did she even need Fenrir to help rid her life of Jude? Could she get Jude sent to Azkaban?
She tried not to allow herself to get too excited by the idea. There were still too many things that could go wrong, but Moody had a point. A paper trail would be worth having, and she wasn't able to get checked out after Jude cast the Cruciatus. Fenrir had forced her to run through different exercises when she was smaller just to try and ease the effects, but it wasn't enough. Even Fenrir had admitted that she should get checked, but he wasn't entirely willing to let her out of his sight. Fenrir wasn't too happy with that, but at the end of the day, there wasn't much that could be done to fix the spell damage except time. But that paper trail could change everything…
Suddenly Emma's prospects didn't seem so bleak.
"Best be on your way, Lupin," Moody said gruffly. "Wouldn't do well to have you miss lunch on your first day."
a/n: Oh ho ho ho. A lot happening on the first day of term, eh? This also 100% does not follow book canon because for some reason the school year always starts on a Monday in the books, but the first day would be a Friday. Made reworking the entire timeline really aggravating, but oh, well! Did you all think that Emma was going to be free of things once she got to the castle and only have to deal with her classmates? Sorryyyyyy.
I'm so sorry that I haven't focused on the Hufflepuff friendships before. I did a little bit, but not really. There will be PLENTY of that now and small stories of how Emma fits in with the rest of her housemates in her year!
Also - oh, no. I was called out so hard on Discord that I forgot to include my goodnight note! I am so so sorry that I forgot it. I think I was super excited that I had a new chapter to post. Taking a break has been so incredibly difficult for me because it's just not really in my nature. I can now say that we're back to our regularly scheduled programming
That being said - To all of my late night readers, please go to sleep, good night and have very very sweet dreams! I'll try not to forget this again. :)
Also, if you want to come join the Gremlin pack, join the Discord! We have plenty of inside jokes, lots of fun, and everyone is amazing. Either punch in the link below (just remove the spaces) OR head over to my twitter bio and grab the link from there (link in my profile) -
discord . gg / 9gXkaaq2qJ
Shard - Papa Padfoot flufffff! I want to write mooorrreeeeee of it. I already dreeaaaaaddddd letting Sirius leave AAHHHHH.
Lucasjan - Ahhh Ernie. What do you mean he needs to be punched? Don't we love him?
Lu - Ahh thank you! I've been yelled at a few times for breaking my break (oops) but it's officially over and I'm happy about it! We are finally in fourth year and I'm excited! :D So much more to come and thank you so much for reading!